Where Movement Tracking Fits in With the Future of Player Evaluations

As sports organizations have become more scientific about their approach to player evaluation, use of the data collected from player movement tracking in different settings has created an increasingly complex puzzle and a decreasingly standardized methodology for assessment. In other words, teams know they need to collect as much movement data on players as possible, but they often have different views about what to do with it.

In any case, that process starts with the use of advanced technology designed for accuracy, dynamic movement tracking and consistent data capture across settings. Tracking technology that is “good enough” rarely actually is. Certain data can be collected and insights plucked from nearly any player tracking tech, but can they be trusted? Will they be useful not only for today’s evaluations but tomorrow’s? Additionally, tracking data is just one component of a larger, modern evaluation framework. So what exactly does that framework look like?

Movement Tracking Is About More Than Just Speed

NFL scouts’ longtime obsession with 40-yard dash times, vertical jump heights and one-rep maximums on the bench press, just to name a few prominent examples, is simple: It helps evaluators compare apples to apples. But it turns out that approach is too simple. Athletes aren’t apples, and their broadest movements often provide too little in-competition context and fail to account for the nuanced interaction with that athlete’s other movements.

At Sportlight, for instance, our player-tracking system can certainly track and provide data on a player’s top speed or time in a fixed-distance run. But unless the athlete being tracked is a 100-meter sprinter, that data has limited value on its own. That’s why Sportlight also calculates change-of-direction movement, peak demand metrics and fatigue flags – all of which can be integrated into player evaluations.

Modern Player Evaluations Take a Longer View

Organizations across sports are no longer focused solely on game-day performance – and with good reason. As data continues to confirm the importance of player availability and relative performance, teams are increasingly prioritizing long-term athlete health and overall performance. Movement tracking technology provides critical insights into these factors, helping organizations make more informed decisions about player development and risk management.

Consider: Athletes such as Messi, Patrick Mahomes and Steph Curry are each one of one. Risking an injury or a prolonged dip in performance for a slightly higher short-term output from a player is a dangerous game for most organizations over the course of a long season. With mountains of data sets at their disposal, player practitioners are now able to create training schedules and modules that build athletes toward timely peak-performance goals and ensure a long arc of top-level overall performance. What burns brightest often burns shortest. The modern player evaluation approach relies on quality data to strike a balance between performance, availability and longevity.

Organizations Use Their Tracking Data Differently

Teams use a combination of metrics to assess players, and each organization weighs its respective data sets differently. Not only do different sports value certain types of movement differently, but even within a sport, a team may prioritize specific movements or qualities differently based on scheme, philosophy, existing player personnel or some combination of all the above.

An NFL franchise that employs a pass-heavy offense and a zone-run scheme, for instance, is likely to put a higher premium on lateral quickness and change-of-direction ability (acceleration and deceleration) for its offensive linemen than another club that favors straight-ahead power running. Given how fluid organizations often must be due to matchups, injuries, coaching changes and numerous other factors, a dynamic player tracking system that provides a greater volume and quality of data helps answer more player evaluation needs and prepare an organization for any scenario.

As sports organizations continue to refine the quality of their data and their talent-assessment strategies, leveraging movement tracking and optimizing the player-evaluation process can offer teams a competitive edge.